Good Morning.

“Ask and it will be given”, “Seek and you will find”, “As you think so will it be to you”. These ideas are all Biblical and I use them because they are familiar to me. I’ve also found similar statements in the words of Philosophers, sages, and mystics. For these ideas to be so commonly asserted, by so many practitioners of every faith and discipline, confers upon them credibility.

These are significant concepts. Ask for good and the odds are you will get something good. Ask for bad and bad will come. Seek good and you will find good. Seek bad and you will find that too. If you think good, have a positive attitude, then the outcome of your situation will be viewed in a better way. How you approach a situation, your attitude toward it, dictates not only the outcome you will accept, but the way your participation engineers the expected results. You will actively pursue confirmation of what you thought. You will validate your attitude.

The essence of free will is our ability to use these principles for our benefit or detriment. They contain logical cause, reasonable expectations, and faith in a dynamic process. Constant positive, produces content positive. Constant negative, results in constant negative. A conscious effort is needed, thoughtful instead of emotional. Stability comes from thinking and planning, consciously utilizing free will guidelines for positive and successful purpose. Don’t be fooled into believing in instantaneous change when you have been manipulated for so long by your emotions. Replacing raw knee jerk sensitivity with mindful response takes time. Faith in the process is needed, just a mustard seed.

Have a great and prosperous week.

Sincerely;

American Motor Transportation Professionals Association

The Power of E³ Educate Enable Empower

Steven L. Johnson
Chief Operating Officer
AMTPA INC
Edinburg TX 78542

Toll Free: (844) 508-8652
Email: steven@amtpaus.com
WEB Site: www.amtpaus.com

Good Monday!

A friend of a friend of mine stated one on Facebook that everything is Politics. I disagree. Politics has its venue, but personal and most honest business relationships are not political.

Relationships are like an out of tune piano. You have a tool to adjust each individual string, there are dozens, but no tuning forks. You must tighten or loosen a string and test it by ear, then compare it to the adjacent strings to determine if the tune is true. As you can tell tuning a piano in this method will be a lot of work, particularly if you are hampered by choosing your own note as a starting point. A relationship between two people, or two companies can only begin when each is tuning their note and then working through adjacent strings one at a time, until a harmonious chord is struck. Even then you may be several strings apart, and attempts to draw closer are thwarted by discord.

Relationships are therefore, and of necessity, give and take, trial and error.  You may have your starting note, and want to hold that note through thick and thin, demanding that anyone wanting a relationship have the same note which often results in possession problems of whose note it is. While changing your tune, or moving to another string, may put you in a more compatible and practical position with others to benefit the music the piano can play.

Relationships are about a wiliness and ability to play well with others, because without them your just one note.  

Have a wonderful week.

.

         American Motor Transportation Professionals Association

The Power Of E³                           Educate                   Enable                      Empower

Steven L. Johnson

Chief Operating Officer

AMTPA INC

Email: steven@amtpaus.com

WEB Site: www.amtpaus.com

Good Monday Morning!!!

I’ve been staring at the screen waiting for inspiration. So far the only inspiring thing I’ve come up with is that I not getting any inspiration. So, here I sit, wishing, and hoping. and …

How many of us do that. Wait for something, anything to be given to us. Serendipity might happen, but I’ve observed it occurs most frequently when we have a purpose for it. Therefore, it may only be serendipitous when applicable to our situation and goals. This also seems consistent with the saying “that we make our own luck”.  

When we have established a plan toward a specific accomplishment, all our thinking, actions, and impulses are directed by our desire to reach that goal. Our intent builds in us the fervent and consuming hope for success. All our mental faculties, conscious or unconscious, begin to attune to what is the hoped for. The conscious decisions made are directly related to the project. The unconscious plays in a different, more expansive arena, where by influence it manipulates the indirect relationships and events in the process. Things like a simple hello to someone on the street, who unbeknownst, is involved later in a professional capacity and more inclined to a positive view of your project. We’ve all seen the commercial on TV where a series of small considerate acts loops back to positively impact the originator of the chain. Can this be equated to predestined serendipity?

There are no research papers on self-willed Serendipity that I know of. Maybe it is called something else by esteemed researchers. The fact that your actions, thoughts, desires, hopes, impulses, and dreams all have a significant effect on your situations, guiding you in a direction where happenstance and luck can alter and shorten the path, is rarely part of a plan even when it can be the difference between success and failure.  

What if we planned for serendipity in every endeavor? Not as a means to avoid hard work, as a reward for working hard.

Have a rewarded week.  

  

Steven L. Johnson

Good Monday Morning.

Science has proven indisputably, that we are built of Molecules composed of a cooperation of Atoms. Billions of Molecules purposed for a specific function - liver, heart, skin, blood, brain, etc. I must wonder if the Atoms are purposed for that function too, or are they just conveniently in the neighborhood when a molecule is needed. Atoms are elements that are building blocks for molecules that are the building blocks for matter. Is it the composition of the Atom that dictates the molecules purpose?

It can be shown that Atoms are notorious transients always in motion. Atoms of every element float free through all matter in the same way planetoids pass through space little influenced by their surroundings. Galaxies can pass through one another without even a star colliding, if science is correct.  Because of this transient quality, Atoms pass from one thing to another.

Suppose Atoms carry with them the memory of their travels. Is it possible our memories fade because the Atoms containing memories leave? What if science found a way to read the memories in the Atoms of our DNA. Could they tell if we are so much of this mountain ground to dust, this ocean now dry as bone, a long extinct forest denizen, Isaac Newton or Einstein, or possibly the space dust from a distant star? What if all the memory in these Atoms are why you are the unique person you are?

We emit Atoms and absorb Atoms all the time from people and things. Compatible Atoms are used to replace the ones gone, the rest just hang around. Could it be that a person’s attraction or repulsion to you is less Anatomic response than an Atomic reaction? What if you contained large quantity of Atoms with similar memories, would that account for an immediate attraction, for the lightning strike of love at first sight? Is compassion really the Atoms sensing an imbalance in kindred Atoms?. People who live together for a long times begin to think, even look alike. Is this because they have shared so many Atoms with their memories? Is this confirmation?  

In my humble? opinion we carry within us more than Racial Memory (Human - shameful I must qualify this). We carry in our Atoms the memory of all history that ever has been. We imprint our Atoms with more memories that are carried away, even into the depths of space. In this way we create our immortality. I believe this is proof of our Supreme Being because so Supremely Elegant in its simplicity.

We are Creators just as Jesus said, “Ye are gods”.

Create something wonderful today worthy of being remembered.

Sincerely;

Steven L. Johnson

Good Monday Morning, Tuesday.

Sometimes, Success at an endeavor depends on molding yourself into the character of someone who is most successful at that endeavor, and doing so until you change the character for success into someone else. What drives someone to do that? I think having a Passion for something, either directly or because it is a step toward a goal, is the driving force.

Passion. What are you passionate about?

In Facebook I follow the Harp Twins. Two young women who play Harps. They don’t just play Harp music. They play Rock, Blues, Jazz, and More. They are Passionate about bringing the Harp into the mainstream as a serious instrument. Some are critical saying the Harp is wrong for certain music. I disagree. Music is a language written on Staff, punctuated with Clef, using letters called notes, with sentences, paragraphs, and pages. Those proficient in this language use instruments to translate it into sounds that everyone can understand, even individualize it into their own unique comprehension. Is the instrument used more important than the translation? Should we not accept their Passion to translate something wonderful for us because of the their instrument of choice?

Many of us have had a Passion for something, and even pursued it. Often, to reach our Passion we must use other tools along the way that help us move closer. Unfortunately, too often I think, we get lost in our tool box, and the tools replace the Passion. We slide the drawer closed and confine ourselves to an immediate reality that sustains us, but never fills us. The tragic story of a love lost.

What a depressing vein. But, all is not lost. It only takes opening the drawer and becoming Passionate about the tools you’ve acquired because they are the means to your Passion and your skills at using them need to be perfected. It does not guarantee you will achieve you Passion, but you print your near success into a character someone else can use and emulate.

Have a wonderful week. Your Passion calls.

Sincerely;

Good Monday Morning!!!

I hope everyone had a calm, rejuvenating weekend.

What is the meaning of life? What is my purpose for being here? These are valid questions. Not just from a religious or philosophical perspective, but from a practical point of view as well. Everyone has heard these questions asked, at church, self-help seminars, spiritual gatherings, and when sitting at home contemplating the universe. Realistically, these questions need to be asked often in order to clarify ones direction in the plan.

I’ve come to the understanding that asking these question and expecting answers that are instantly and universally applicable is not logical or practical, except to say that your purpose is obviously to live. Using the questions to answer themselves, I found, is universally rejected because not specific enough.

So how do we solve the puzzle with profundity equal to the intent of the questions? How can we answer a question of infinite scope with an equally infinite answer when we are but finite beings with finite comprehension?

My solution has been to remain in the finite realm of comprehension. Today, right now, my meaning of life is to write. My purpose for being here is to author this letter. A Big Rig drivers meaning of life is to drive, and the purpose is to safely transport goods in/on a trailer. A Doctors meaning of life is to heal people, and his purpose is to diagnose and treat. The questions reduced to a comprehensible finite are actually quite easy to answer because within our ability to define.

On your Roadmap To Success you can answer the questions as they apply to you.  No one else can tell you what the meaning of your life is, or the purpose, with any specificity because not intimate with your experience and training. Only you can.

I’ve stated in a previous letter; “A Master Craftsman can take a dull tool, and because intimate with its deficiency, create a masterpiece”.  

Have a Masterful week living up to your purpose!!!

Sincerely;

Steven L. Johnson

COO

AMTPA LLC

Good Monday Morning!

If Darwin’s Theory is correct, how come we don’t see any more bald apes being born. Did nature say, ”Okay, nothing but hairy apes from now on?” Based that a human embryo resembles tadpole, has anyone observed a big headed frog walking on its hind legs?  I might accept it is an event that only occurs once in a long time, but with the billions of animals and fish, and the trillions of insects, all observed constantly by Zoologists, Entomologist, and other “ists”, isn’t it odd that a “once in a long time” event has never been observed in recent history? What happened? Evolution suddenly stopped?

Maybe the theory is correct but the premise is wrong. It seems illogical (and I use logic because any infinite being must be infinitely logical) that of the hundreds of billions of stars, in hundreds of billions of galaxy, ours is so unique as to be the only life producing planet in the neighborhood. And, that given our solar system took 4 Billion years to solidify, we are an infinitesimal speck in a galaxy that did not take a proportional amount of time to form? 14 Billion years for all this to happen? Doesn’t add up.

What seems more logical to me is that whatever event happen to begin anything is lost so far back in antiquity that the evidence of it has been diluted and diffused with everything that has occurred since to the degree it is unidentifiable. I think it possible stars and galaxies` that have lived and died so long ago that even if the light from it traveled a trillion light years, it has already passed us, and we will never know of it. Logic demands we stop thinking we are more than only the relative center of OUR universe because we can only detect light that is presently reaching us. Logic also demand we accept the limits of our sight because, just as sunlight washes away the stars, an event horizon exists at the limit of OUR universe that prevents us from seeing more, unless it is an immensely powerful a light, and would then be an anomaly to contradict “Big Bang”.   

My logics demands we see that if the Universe has existed longer that 14 Billion years, or even within 14 Billion years, the seeds from anything that has existed before us has been propelled into space by its ending. And that those seeds contained in space dust, meteors, or comets, have landed on this planet. Just as with any seed, whatever its form, a proper environment is required for germination. We must consider the possibility that the seed contains all the coding for a specific thing, and when it geminates it produces one single thing after maturing. The maturation process being a micro evolution that could end when the environment is no longer compatible, then begin again in the next compatible environment  Therefore the possibility of simultaneous appearance is not beyond consideration. Tens of billions of suns producing billions of seeds. Accepting the “Seed” theory then shows that an Ape will always be an Ape, Ants are always Ants, Humans are always Humans, and the ends of the coded sequence have been fulfilled.

Nature Abhors a Vacuum. This seems correct. By observation this statement is more correct - Nature Requires a Vacuum. Without the vacuum of space would anything exist at all? Could solar systems form? When something necessary was needed, something necessary appeared.

Only when a vacuum appeared, or a lack, did events occur to fill or eliminate it. Business can be viewed in the same vein. As the landscape changes because technology moves faster here than another place, or a vacuum being filled producing another, or whatever the reason, a beacon for attention to the need ignites. Those who pay attention, can see an opportunity – the light bulb over the head. Experience is the fertile ground, knowledge the seed, and determination the cultivation that causes it to grow. Then another vacuum occurs for pollination of the blossoming idea, so it grows into an even more desirable final product. Every endeavor can only become a macro success after all the micro successes have flowered and been pollinated. (Sorry to mix metaphors)

For every vacuum there is a seed. Because of Macro Business and Micro Business, infinite vacuums over fertile ground exist. It is the Natural Evolution of things and we are always farmers, naturally.

Have a Great Week!!!

Good Monday Morning!

Experience who you are with. I know in today’s world the trend is to insulate ourselves with technology from the effects of the nuances from physical experience. As a result an entire important range of human interaction is being denied. The subtle influence from exchange in the same space, whether from the Olfactory reinforcement of memory, exchange of recognition Atoms, or full body experience of another’s presence is being slowly reduced. Is it any wonder a violent response is manifesting? Is it an unconscious cry for help because deprived of an important and essential input needed for rational thought and basic survival?  

Have we reduced our life experience. Instead of a three dimensional experience, life has been reduced to two dimensions. Through technology we have breadth and height, but are missing depth. Does this limit to our perception and contribute to shallow social interactions? Even if the device displays a three dimensional image, it is a two dimensional illusion. And, the lips rarely move in sync with the image so another input, visual and sound, is out of  whack.

This may sound as if I’m raging against the machine, but what I’m really doing is setting the ground work for a shift in attitude. Our attitude toward a thing dictates how we act within the scope of experience we allow that thing to have in our life.

We’ve all heard the stories about Guru’s on a hilltop. They isolate themselves from everyone and everything in order to find God? Wisdom? Peace? I think what they are really doing is finding a way to experience themselves. When no one else is around to experience, the only person we can experience is ourselves. What if we could take this attitude and project it into our own experience, at least in part. Since machines are isolating us, limiting our personal experience with others, our only option is to experience a part of ourselves so our experience of life and people is complete. When we experience ourselves we recognize and see ourselves in our experience of others, our own reflection in their experience of us. Becoming more aware of our own experience can fill the hole left by technological self-isolation, just as Guru’s are filled with their own experience of their experience.

When you can experience yourself in the first and third person, be the experience and the experiencer, the participant and the narrator, will you then see through the mirror darkly?

Have a wonderful week.

Sincerely;

Steven Johnson

Good Monday Morning World!!! Was that quake the world shaking in fear, or shivering in anticipation?

Hope and Fear is are good topics for today, especially where it applies to business.

Many I’ve met through my years, are now or have been successful: and some are now or have been trying to succeed: and some are now and will always be resigned to their failure. That is not to say that those, probably the majority of people, who have found a comfortable niche that sustains them now and will grow with them, are failures. Far from it. They are probably happy in their comfort, even content, and less fearful. But is sustainability growth?  Or the fear of growth?

In business there are always risks. Those who succeed do so because of the “Hope Of Gain” not the “Fear Of Loss”. You’ve all seen the proverb that says something like, “the successful have failed more times than you have tried”. For this to be true, they have accepted that failure part of the process, even view failure as no more than a sign post along the path to success. Kind of like a Detour Sign around the rough patches where you might have suffered complete and catastrophic failure.

Focus on the “Fear Of Loss” and you will spend so much time preventing the inevitable failure by mistaking it as loss, that you will never recognize your successes. A narrow path fraught with peril. You will now and  always will be resigned to Fail.

Focus on the  “Hope Of Gain”.  I will not define it for you. It is too nebulous a concept, and changes with the person.  

Hope or Fear. Have Faith or lose Faith - in You.

Have a Great Week.

Happy New Year,  2016.

The Holiday Season is over. No more Giving is required or expected. Now it is okay to return to our “Scrooge-ish” ways without worrying about three ghosts? Baa Humbug can safely be said until November? Do we fill our cups with selfishness, and toast the New Year? The selfish always drink alone because they do not share anything.

During the Holidays we gave because it was expected, and felt elated because of the happiness it gave the receiver. It fulfilled a need in us to give, that lightened our load for just a few days, and we were also the happy recipients that lightened someone else’s load. Giving even when receiving. Receiving even when giving.  

An old proverb says something like“ A full Tea cup cannot hold any more Tea.” Therefore, by pouring our Tea into someone else’s cup made it possible for us to receive Tea from another. And the more we pour out, the more we can have poured in. Warmth and comfort received, warmth and comfort given.

My New Year’s Wish for all of you, is to always be Warm and Comfortable, Happy and Light.

Happiness for your New Year.

Sincerely;